- Can you be a successful online student?
- Do you have the technical skills required to be successful?
- Do you have access to the technology required for online learning?
- How can I be successful in an online class?
- I registered and paid for an online course; now what?
- What is Canvas and how do I log in to my courses?
- Is there a video I can watch to get started?
- How do I contact my online instructor?
- Do I have to come to campus for anything?
- My course uses Turnitin for assignments. What is TurnItIn?
- Honorlock is required in my class for test proctoring. How do I use Honorlock?
- My instructor mentioned Ally. What is Ally used for?
- How much does an online course cost?
- How can I get help with homework/tutoring?
- Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright Policies
Can you be a successful online student?
Now that you are considering joining thousands of other successful SUSCC students who have chosen to take an online or hybrid course, you should decide whether you are ready. We want you to be successful in your college coursework but no one knows you like you do! You must have the motivation to log in to your course regularly and complete the requirements according to the schedule for that class. You also must determine if you have sufficient computer (technical) skills and access to the technology required.
If you are new to distance education classes, here are 10 Tips for Success in an Online Class.
Do you have the technical skills required to be successful?
Students who enroll in an online course are responsible for having enough computer skills to accomplish the tasks that will be expected of them. Be aware that online instructors are not responsible for teaching these skills within the course. If you do not possess sufficient technical skills, you may want to ta,ke a computer class to increase your computer knowledge before you attempt an online class.
Do you have access to the technology required for online learning?
In addition to possessing the technical skills needed to succeed, you must also have access to the required technology. Check out these technology requirements before you register for online courses so that you can be successful!
Ready to Register?
Now, if you are ready to begin or continue your educational journey through distance education, the steps to register for online or hybrid courses are the same as those for registering for our traditional courses. Click here to find out how to log into your student account where you can register for classes. Through the Banner online class schedule lookup, you can limit the courses to online or hybrid to find a listing of all online courses offered at Southern Union. When you are ready to actually schedule your classes, you may need to see an Academic Advisor if you are a new student or have questions. Many of your questions about how to register can be answered on this Registration Info page.
After registering for classes, an account will be created in our learning management system, Canvas. That account will contain links to all the courses you have enrolled in while yoYour Canvas account was not created at the time of admission begin for the semester, you can access those course links to find directions and content for completing your online course. For more information about Canvas and how to log in to your Canvas account, visit the Login and Technical Support page.
I registered and paid for an online course; now what?
When you applied for admission to the college, several online student accounts were created automatically for you, such as mySUSCC/Ellucian Experience and your student email. At the time of admission, a Canvas account was not created in SU's ine of Canvas, but it will be when you schedule a course at Southern Union. Canvas (a Learning Management System (LMS)) will be the site where you access your coursework. Access Canvas, and your other online accounts, through the mySUSCC/Ellucian Experience Quick Links to ensure you are taken to the correct sites.
Once you log in to Canvas, you will see a course card for each course on your Dashboard if the instructor has published the course. You cannot access the class until the instructor has published it.
If no courses appear on the Dashboard, click the Courses button (below the Dashboard button), and you should see a list of courses. At the top are the currently active courses, a list of your Past Enrollments, and at the bottom, a list of Future Enrollments that you have registered for but are not yet active. If you find courses under the Future Enrollments section, you may have registered for a mini-term or Five- or Seven-week term that is not yet active. These will become active on the dates in the Academic Calendar.
To the right of each current and future enrollment course, there will be an indicator to let you know whether the course has been published. Many instructors do not publish their course until the First Day of Class as indicated on the college calendar but all courses should be published by the first official day of class. If classes have started and a course is still not published, check to be sure it is not a mini-term or five-week class. If your course is active and the course is not published by accident, please email your instructor and include a screenshot showing the course and the indicator showing it is not published. Refer to the question below, "How Do I Contact my Online Instructor?" for assistance in emailing them.
If you are late registering or logging into Canvas and classes have begun, you must start your coursework immediately to avoid being withdrawn for non-attendance and/or missing assignments.
Important note: Canvas recommends specific browsers be used to access the LMS for best results. Chrome is recommended for the best results. Click here for details about supported browsers for use with Canvas. Canvas also provides an application for mobile devices, but you should not try to complete an online course using a mobile device. (Some functionality is lost when using mobile devices to access some areas of the Canvas LMS.)
What is Canvas and how do I log in to my course(s)?
Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS) by Instructure. Southern Union's Canvas is hosted by the Alabama Community College System (ACCS). If you have attended other colleges within ACCS, you will mini-term courses within your Canvas account as well. For details about finding your courses, see the previous question, "I registered and paid for an online course, now what?"
How do I contact my online instructor?
Your instructor probably has a preferred method of communicating with online students. This is to help keep all of the communications threads organized. Once you are in your online course, find out how your instructor would like for you to get in touch. Directions can be found on your Canvas course home page, and the course syllabus located within your Canvas course. Meanwhile, you may use the directory search link below to search for their email and telephone extension.
Directory Search
Do I have to come on campus for anything?
That depends on whether you are in a hybrid online course or a fully online course. Hybrid online courses will require a minimum of one on-campus meeting but may require more. Your hybrid online course may simply require one in-person meeting, but there may be several weekly meetings. You should find the on-campus requirement in the notes with each course on the class schedule and in the Canvas course.qq Once your class has begun, log in to your course to see what your instructor has planned for on-campus visits. If you need to request any exceptions to the required meeting(s), you need to do so early in the semester. Exceptions are uncommon and are allowed at the discretion of the individual instructors.
Online courses do not require an on-campus meeting. The midterm and final examination will be proctored through an online proctoring service, currently Honorlock. It will be your responsibility to be prepared with an up-to-date computer (no mobile devices), a working webcam and microphone, and a reliable internet connection at the location you plan to complete your course. To find out more about the online proctoring service currently used by SUSCC, click here to go to the Technical Support Page where you will find information and directions for using Honorlock.
What is TurnItIn?
Turnitin is the industry standard in online plagiarism prevention. Any work that you submit in your online course is likely to be filtered and compared to a global database of other documents and student work. Your instructor will receive a report detailing the likelihood that portions of your submission have been copied. In addition, some in-person (traditional) courses will use this tool to check student submissions.
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